Stories from the Center of the Universe

Vincent Hill is a veteran, former police officer, author, and now a news anchor serving Tulsa, OK. He was born in Germany to a military family, grew up moving around a lot, then joined the military himself. He spent four years in the Nashville Police Department, and later spoke out in criticism of the police's narrative in Tennessee Titan quarterback Steve McNair's homicide. He ended up writing a...

Thomas Leachman has an affinity for doing things a little differently, be it from his days barefoot kicking on his college football team, to being one of the few proud UMBC fans courtside on the day of their fateful win over UVA. Thomas joined us to talk about growing up here in Ashland, his love of sports that led him to starting his own remarkable basketball event marketing company, and adventur...

"As one of the 27,000 “Lost Boys of Sudan”, John Dau has experienced challenges that most people could never imagine. As a young man, he fled his home during the Second Sudanese Civil War, spending much of his adolescence as a refugee fleeing hostile militias, fighting against extreme hunger and thirst, and leading thousands of young boys just like him across hundreds upon hundreds of miles in sea...

Darren McBurnett AKA McB is a former Navy SEAL and author of Uncommon Grit, a photography book documenting the famous and notoriously difficult Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training. We had a great conversation covering McB's upbringing, his thoughts on BUD/S, some of his experiences in the SEAL Teams, and how his instagram has become a uniting refuge from the divisive norm. To find out more a...

Zachariah Hani Jambo is currently a student at the African Leadership University in Kigali, Rwanda. He was born in Khartoum, Sudan, although he is of South Sudanese origin - specifically, of the Moru tribe. His family moved to Cairo, Egypt when he was just three, and he grew up there under tenuous circumstances - for example, he and his family had to avoid the Egyptian authorities until his father...

Jamie Malaugh is a Northern Irishman from England who, in a serious culture change, ended up moving to Alabama as a teenager. He realized he was pretty good at math from a young age, and ended up getting his undergrad, master's, and PhD in Mathematics from the University of Alabama at Birmingham by the remarkable young age of 24. This episode we talk about all of that, his family, and his love for...

This is a lookback on the first 50 episodes that we recorded and ideas for the future, along with some general conversation. Featuring Katy De Koning and Roger Lee.

This episode we have Cheron Smalls on the show to share her refreshingly positive perspectives on things. Having led a 20+ year career in HR, she talks about why good HR is crucial for people and companies, what she loves about her work, and some common misconceptions people have about HR. We also hear from her on what it’s like being an older mom, and how she navigates raising black children. Fin...

Tim Malamphy is a pinball lover and statistics enthusiast who enjoys the thrill of casinos, horse races, and odds games. Tim is also a volunteer mentor at Richmond's Swansboro elementary school. This episode, we hear about Tim's life, some of his stories, including how he grew up with eccentric golfer John Daly, and more.  Pictured: The Malamphy Family (L-R: Daniel, Tim, Wendy, Annie, and Brian)

Kyle Stephenson is a real estate entrepreneur and former football player for the University of Pennsylvania. This episode we talk about Kyle’s origins as a first generation Jamaican American, life in NJ, football, and how he got started with his first property that led to a 30 year career and a successful real estate company.

Mohammed Saeed served as an interpreter for the US Army for 7.5 years throughout the Iraq war. Born in Najaf, Iraq, Mohammed moved around the country during his upbringing, before eventually following his younger brother's lead in becoming a translator. After his years of service, he was able to leave for the United States in 2012, and became a citizen in 2018. He now happily lives and works as a...

When she was just a child, Anne Loeb and her family had to flee Nazi Germany, first to France, then to New York City in 1939 via the SS De Grasse.  This conversation, Anne shared her experience of Germany in the 30s, her flight, including the elation of reaching American waters, and the adventures she and her family have had in the States ever since. She now lives in the Washington, DC area.   We...

Steve Dunfee is a Green Beret, a 33-year Army Veteran, and now a law enforcement officer of 20+ years. This conversation, we discuss his Ashland origins, his path to the Army, and his journey through some of the most intense training the US Military has to offer. As a disclaimer, the stories Steve shares about Special Forces Assessment, Selection, and Q-Course are from decades ago, and should not...

Courtney Ferrell is a speaker, writer, poet, (and as of this podcast, a singer) with boundless energy, infectious positivity, and an inspiring willingness to not take life too seriously. This conversation, we talked about many things, among them being her TED Talks on coming of age, motherhood, spontaneity, how to get out of a speeding ticket, the miracle of existence, and more.   She is also star...

John Watts is an Australian-born veteran of both the Australian Army and Virginia Army National Guard, and he now works as a national security analyst and business consultant in Washington, DC. John joined us for an episode on to tell us about his life's journey so far in four poetically themed sections: "Horizons," "Serendipity," "Transitions," and finally "Wizards and Curtains". 

Shawn Peterson is a native of Hanover, VA, now residing in Atlanta. This conversation, we talked about Shawn's hobby of composing and producing music, his career development and progress, reflections on leadership, and the joys of being a dad. 

Davis Burnett knew early on that he wanted to be a police officer. He decided to leave his native California and join the Marine Corps just after high school, and eventually ended up joining the Montgomery Police Department as a police officer for 7 years. Davis shares his personal experience during that time and since, and the way his views on race and policing have evolved throughout the years. 

Roger Lee is Pod So 1's #1 super fan. He's the only listener we know of to have listened through every minute of our podcast, an undertaking which Paul and I would hesitate to wish on anyone. We brought Roger on to tell us his story - A 2nd generation Korean American, he grew up in Colonial Heights, son to a dedicated entrepreneurial mother who owned and ran Won's Wig Shop in Petersburg, VA. In ou...

Brenda Gilman, AKA Paul's mother, is a lifelong educator, first of Kindergarteners, then of college students (though what's the difference really). No stranger to hard work, she earned both her Master's and Ph. D. in education through night classes while raising her two kids. Brenda is also a natural creative, and has consistently practiced expression across a variety of visual arts her whole life...

Mason New is a writer, teacher, business owner, and US Marine Corps veteran. As a kid, Mason was afforded an excellent education, attending a private boarding school and later studying at Washington and Lee University. However, feeling the call of service and yearning for more life experience, he made the unexpected decision of enlisting in the Marines in his senior year of college. His father, a...

This special episode we have Amelia Lantz (AKA Daniel's mother) on to tell us about her Galveston, TX origins, meeting Daniel's dad, and her adventures in being an expat wife. Moving is hard; moving a family of six from Bolivia to England to Houston to Kuwait to Cairo is extremely hard, and it took a Herculean effort on her part to deal with the boxes and time zones and culture shock, all the whil...

Chris Stout is a reputed engineer, architect, and leader  in the Central VA tech scene. He joined us for an episode to talk about his origins, his time at Virginia Tech, starting his own company (with some advice for Daniel as he starts his own), his love of hunting, and how COVID has affected him and his family.

This week we've got a slightly different episode for you, featuring two guests we've already had on (Sarah Wall from episode 17 and Aaron Albrecht from episode 27) to weigh in on different issues as we enter this intensely political season. We brought these two on because they are both politically involved, and are on opposite ends of the political spectrum - Aaron on the left, and Sarah on the ri...

This week, Gray Lane is on to tell us about his experience at Virginia Military Institute - he got in touch with us after hearing Al Lester's episode (https://podso1.io/episode/32). We also talk about him growing up in VA, his career in private accounting, and more. 

Andrew Ting is a Malaysian Chinese Canadian American jack-of-all-trades but still master of a few. Over the course of his life, he's had the titles of art textbook writer, website designer, street musician, orchestral cellist, business consultant, painter, novelist, Harvard-educated lawyer, and college professor, to name a few. In our conversation, Andrew speaks with us about his origins, why they...